20 3 



on a still night could be heard a long way off. I went down one 

 of the largest, being lowered about 16 feet by a rope before I 

 reached the rock below. I found then I was in a large egg-shaped 

 cave with a passage at one side, up which came a great rush of 

 perfectly fresh air. I went about 20 feet down the passage or tun- 

 nel, and got into another cave, and while here I could distinctly 

 hear the murmuring of water, apparently a great way off. 



At a number of the blow holes we could distincly hear water 

 running. In this district we found no tracks of natives at all. Saw 

 plenty of kangaroos and emus, but very little bird life. Wedge- 

 tailed eagles were visible every day all over this country. 



The third division is a narrow strip of country extending, 

 rougly speaking, from latitude 30-31 to latitude 31. 



It is in places almost desert, the rock being so near the surface 

 that very little vegetation can grow, and in many places there is 

 none at all. What there is consists principally of small stunted salt 

 and blue bush, and where the soil is a little deeper, stunted sandal- 

 wood and narrow belts of mallee. The limestone here is more 

 flinty in character and does not seem so porous and is extremely 

 hard. Only one or two blow holes were found, and no others were 

 seen further north. Except just after the rains this country would 

 be almost useless for grazing purposes. 



The fourth division extends from latitude 31 to a little south of 

 latitude 30 and is far and away the best country in the whole area. 

 Here I found in many places a good depth of soil and the country 

 undulating, and in many places limestone hills and rocks standing up 

 abruptly from the plain. It is a well grassed country, grass being 

 often up to the camels' knees, while the timber is much larger than 

 any found in the south. There is evidently a good rainfall, and water 

 courses were found in many places, not, the slightest trace of any 

 such having been seen further south. Although no blow holes 

 were found here, several large depressions were found that looked 

 like half filled up wells, and in one of these most of the watercourses 

 ended, thus showing that they led to underground channels. Native 

 tracks and smoke were frequently seen, but notwithstanding all our 

 efforts, we could not come across any natives, although several times 

 we came on their fires, and once some kangaroo cooking, but the 

 blacks had seen us and disappeared in the timber before 

 we got near enough to them. We found no water in 

 this district, and the natives seem to depend principally upon the 

 mallee roots for water. In places where the natives had evidently 

 camped for some time great heaps of these roots were found. The 

 roots were nearly all about the thickness of a man's little linger, and 

 about three feet long. The method of obtaining the water is to 

 place the roots in hot ashes for a minute or tw r o, and then turn them 

 upright, with one end in a vessel to catch the water which gradually 

 oozes out. On two occasions I believe the lives of our party were 

 saved by thus obtaining water. The water is pure and fresh, with- 



